The present invention relates generally to hats and caps used as headwear, and more specifically to hats and caps having one or more bills or brims that also may be moved or rotated to various positions around the circumference of the crown of the headwear without detaching the bill or brim from the headwear.
This invention is an improvement over that described in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,534 issued Feb. 10, 1998 (Mobley), which describes headwear having a detachable bill or even a full brim that can be repositioned relative to the crown of the headwear while wearing the headwear and without detaching the brim or bill from the crown. It also describes unitary headwear that can give the appearance of being at least two separate hats and in which two or more bills or brims can be repositioned relative to balance of the headwear, such that neither the headwear nor the bills or brims need be removed from the headwear to be repositioned. As described in that patent, the ability to position easily one or more bills or fuller brims on a hat allows the wearer to adjust them to optimize their shading effect and protection from elements of weather such as rain or hail. Mobley also describes these uses of hats for self-expression, shading, and protection by freeing the wearer from the necessity of removing the hat or of detaching the bill or brim of the hat whenever the wearer wants to change its position. Again in Mobley, the means of attachment and detachment of the bills and brims to the headwear facilitates the creation of a unitary hat design that, when in place on the wearer's head, can give the appearance that two or more hats being worn.
Given that the bill or brim is capable of installation, removal and smooth repositioning as in Mobley, the present invention achieves the goal of improving the comfort, flexibility, durability and ease of change of the bill or brim portion of a cap or hat, by separating the bill or brim from the rest of the cap or hat with a unique arrangement for attachment of the bill or brim. This arrangement relieves mechanical strain, permits greater airflow, facilitates changes of one bill or brim for another, simplifies manufacture, and allows more flexible movement of the cap or hat in relation to the supporting structure for the bill or brim.